In a further attempt to distance itself from the former army commander, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, Sri Lanka's Leader of the House said this week that Mr Fonseka's views were personal and not that of the government's. 

"The statement made by Fonseka was his personal opinion and not that of the government," Mr Lakshman Kiriella told parliament, the Sunday Leader reported. 

The former Sri Lankan defence secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday launched a new organisation aimed at defeating the government's plans for a new constitution. 

Claiming the new constitution was aimed at appeasing the "LTTE diaspora" and would lead to secession, Mr Rajapaksa vowed to defeat the project. 

"Separate state can't be given on platter vicariously thru new constitution after 30 years of sacrifice #SriLanka #Eliya #NoToSeparateState" he tweeted. 

The Chemmani massacre of 1996, in which Sri Lankan soldiers raped and murdered Tamil schoolgirl, Krishanthi Kumaraswamy, and murdered three of her family members that had come looking for her, was remembered today in Jaffna.

A tense situation arose in Amparai on Saturday when police ordered Buddhist monks to stop construction work near a Buddhist vihara in Manikkamadu.

The monks have been attempting to build a rest house on what they claim is land belonging to the vihara and Buddhist archaeological site on Mayakalli hill, but were told to stop by police when the Muslim and Tamil landowners obtained a court order against the construction.

Eastern Provincial Council ministers went to the location to ensure the construction was halted, with police allegedly having to diffuse a tense situation between locals and monks.

The Indian government has provided an Offshore Patrol Vessel to the Sri Lanka Coast Guard, handing it over in a ceremony in Kochi, India on Tuesday.

Formerly used by the Indian Coast Guard, the ship will be used by the Sri Lanka Coast Guard for patrolling and surveillance in Sri Lanka waters, humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations, prevention of maritime pollution as well as training purposes, the Sri Lankan Navy website says.

Japan has initiated talks with Sri Lanka and India with the view of developing the deep water port in Trincomalee, reports Dailymirror.lk.

Speaking to journalists in Trincomalee, Japans Ambassador to Sri Lanka Kenichi Suganuma said, Trincomalee was an important strategically located deep sea port which had potential for future development.

“We have begun discussions with India on how best to develop the port in the future. There are no concrete plans yet,” he said.

Speaking on Japan’s approach to development in Sri Lanka, he said,

A federal and secular system with self-determination for the merged Northern and Eastern Provinces could be the solution for Sri Lanka’s ethnic issue, the Tamil People’s Council has said.

In a declaration made on Tuesday, TPC added that all Muslim and Sinhala people native to the merged North-East Tamil homeland would be entitled to all the rights in the Federal Unit, including a separate political unit for Muslims.

See full declaration below.

The Sri Lankan government is not interested in witness protection but is waiting for key witnesses to the 2002 Welikada shooting to be killed, said Sudesh Nandimal, one of the key witnesses to the shooting. 

This week, unidentified gunmen shot at the residence of Mr Nandimal, who is currently living with his sister's house in Moratuwa. He escaped unharmed but photographs of multiple bullet injuries to the property's front gate have emerged.

Tamil Nadu fishermen have reported being attacked by Sri Lankan navy on Wednesday off the coast of Katchatheevu island. 

Ten fishermen were injured in the attack, PTI reported, along side damage to 20 boats. 

Navy officers chased them away from the area, warning of "severe consequences". 

The attack comes just hours after the Sri Lankan navy transferred 80 released fishermen to Indian authorities. 

158 Tamils rounded up and forcibly disappeared by the Sri Lankan Army from the Eastern University were remembered in Batticaloa today, on the 27th anniversary of their disappearance.

On 5th September 1990, Sri Lankan soldiers surrounded the Vantharumoolai campus of Eastern University, rounding-up and arresting 158 Tamils that were sheltering there.